ANCC
Condemns the Turkish Government Blackmail of Israel and Jewish
Organizations
Ottawa-Within hours after The
Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the
Turkish government went on the offensive and demanded the Israeli
government to "deliver"American Jewish organizations and to
ensure that the US Congress does not pass a resolution characterizing as
genocide the massacre of Armenians during World War I.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Turkey's ambassador to Israel Namik Tan
said: "Israel should not let the [US] Jewish community change its
position. This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly
important. On some issues there is no such thing as 'Israel cannot
deliver.'" Tan said that ADL's recognition of the Armenian Genocide
was one of those issues.
Prof. Jack Nusan Porter, treasurer of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and author of "The Genocidal Mind" and
"Facing History and Holocaust" called Turkey's pressure on
Israel "blackmail."
Aris Babikian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of
Canada (ANCC) said: "We hope that the Israeli government, as a
sovereign state, and Jewish organizations will not yield to the Turkish
Government blackmail and the use of the Jewish community of Turkey as
political hostage. Such immoral behaviour by a government which is
renowned for the oppression of its minorities (Armenians, Greeks, Jews,
Assyrians, Kurds) and their basic human and civil rights should not be
tolerated by the civilized world."
"A fascist and anti-Semitic state which allowed "Mein Kampf"
and "The Protocols of Elders of Zion" to become best-sellers in
Turkey and brought the wealth tax on Jews and other minorities, should not
enjoy the support and alliance of Israel and the Jewish people,"
added Babikian.
The ANCC director expressed the Canadian-Armenian community's and the
ANCC's gratitude to Jewish organizations and individuals who have
"shown moral and ethical courage by standing up for truth and
justice."
Babikian
said that he was certain "Armenians and Jews, who have suffered so
much, would not allow the Turkish government's or any individuals
misguided and shortsighted decisions to derail us form our joint calling
to fight Armenian Genocide or Holocaust denial."
The current
upheaval came to light after the town council of Watertown, Mass. voted
unanimously to cut its ties with the Anti-Defamation League and its
program "No Place for Hate" for the ADL's lobbying
efforts on behalf of the Turkish government to block the passage of the
United States House of
Representatives and Senate
resolutions to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Foxman
has justified his organization's position in a statement saying: "As
long as ADL is an organization committed first to the safety and security
of the Jewish people, we cannot in good conscience ignore the well-being
of 20,000 Jews in Turkey."
The controversy turned into an international crisis and caused turmoil in
human rights organizations and in Jewish communities. Twelve Boston-area
Jewish organizations issued a joint statement appealing to Jews to
"never forget the Armenian Genocide and maintain our guard against
those who deny its occurrence."
Seeing that his position is
untenable on August 24 Foxman issued a carefully crafted statement
modifying the ADL position. "On reflection, we have come to
share the assessment of former Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr., that the
consequences of the painful events of 1915-1918 were indeed tantamount to
genocide," the statement read.
